


On Trust

by veenaistired



Category: Bravely Default (Video Game) & Related Fandoms, Bravely Default II
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Missing Scene, cheese cheese cheese, could b platonic if you wanna read it that way, mostly at least
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-08
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-14 23:27:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29924433
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/veenaistired/pseuds/veenaistired
Summary: Elvis, Adelle, and the issue of trust.Set after chapter 4, spoilers ahead!
Relationships: Adelle/Elvis
Comments: 6
Kudos: 16





	On Trust

**Author's Note:**

> So, I literally finished BDII a few days ago and I love the dynamic these two have going on so so much. As in proper video-game fashion, some issues I would've loved to see discussed are sadly glossed over a bit so ofc I needed to make Elvis and Adelle have a proper talk after 'you know what' happens in chapter 4.
> 
> Thanks for stopping by and enjoy if you can <3

Rimedhal is a mess. 

Not that that’s much of a surprise mind you, considering the Holograders came to wreck shop less than forty-eight hours ago. War tends to mess up a place, alright. Still, even before the whole invasion debacle, he didn’t much like the town. It’s cold and windy and he’s almost shattered his backbone slipping and falling down the iced-over stairs at least once. A harrowing experience, really, even though the others just laughed at him for being careless. 

And then there’s the religious fanatics. They’re a great crowd, really, when they’re not talking about who to push down the old chasm next. Well, _technically,_ they’re not doing that anymore. Not that he knows of, anyway.

He highly doubts they’d still be in the city if the whole 'Judgement' nonsense hadn’t been called off. As it is, they’re sticking around a little while longer. The night after the invasion, all of them had been so worn out they were barely able to put one foot in front of the other, not to mention traveling on to another city. They unanimously decided to stay the night at the inn, planning to continue on the next morning. But, of course, nothing ever goes according to plan. 

The second they step outside and see the state Rimedhal is in, it’s decided they’re sticking around to help out with relief efforts. While the damage to the city itself is minimal, or, well, as minimal as it gets after a full-scale invasion, but there are many wounded. And many dead. 

But as much as he wishes he could, Elvis can’t help those so, instead, he puts his White Mage Asterisk to good use and gets to healing people’s wounds. It’s honestly exhausting. Not that that comes as much of a surprise, drawing on this much magical power inevitably wears you out. Still, when he collapses into bed that night, too tired to even have dinner or a well-deserved pint of beer, it’s all worth it. The next day, the place is in much better shape and they decide to pack up their stuff, make all the necessary preparations and move on. Gloria and Seth volunteer to make sure all their weapons are in top shape and Adelle says she’ll take care of restocking their supplies. Technically, that would leave Elvis with some spare time to work on deciphering his book but that plan is waylaid by none other than Adelle herself.

"I’ll be heading out now. To get supplies and stuff," she says to him, about to leave the inn through the main entrance in the common room.

After traveling alongside Adelle for as long as he has, Elvis has learned some things about her. One of them being that she never asks for help. _Ever_. At least not directly. She’s way too stubborn for that. The fact that she tells him she’s heading off is practically Adelle speech for 'do you want to join me?' And she’s not asking him because she’ll need help carrying their supplies back either. Out of the four of them, she’s easily the strongest. No, the problem here is Rimedhal, as in the whole damned town and everyone in it. Yes, the Judgements are done and over with, but prejudice and hatred don’t go away that easily, not when they’ve been festering for years. Dominic might be gone, but there’s still a lot of people in town who hate her just for existing. It only makes sense that she wouldn’t want to go alone, and Elvis, being his ever helpful self, is happy to help out with that.

"Want me to come with?" he asks because he already knows she won’t.

"Sure, let’s go."

So, he walks by her side as they run their errands around Rimedhal. Even though she quite literally helped save their town _and_ their lives, most people quickly look away when they spot her, some even hastily scurrying away. Unthankful lot. Then and again though, the odd person shoots Adelle a nasty glare as they pass her by and all of a sudden Elvis is _really_ glad looks can’t kill. They don’t go any further than that though, partly Elvis returns their glares with a big smile, something he does not because they deserve it, but because it creeps them out enough to back off. Still, the dirty looks affect her. Adelle is trying to put on a brave face, to make it seem like all of this is just rolling off her back, and, for the most part, she’s being successful. 

Elvis isn’t fooled though. 

Adelle and him have been traveling together way too long for him not to see through her. She’s scared, plain and simple. Here’s the thing – Adelle is one of the strongest people he knows. She’s tough and resourceful and wields her axe with an ease that never fails to astound him. Elvis, on the other hand, probably couldn’t even lift the damn thing. No, if anyone tried to give her trouble, she’d beat them into next week, or, possibly, next month. Still, fear is an irrational little thing, and extraordinarily skilled at worming its way into people's minds. 

All this considered, it isn’t much of a surprise that their little trip through Rimedhal isn’t exactly a pleasant one. Usually, the two of them never have any issue finding something to talk about, but today she’s uncharacteristically tight-lipped, only speaking when she has to. In all honesty, he’s relieved once they step back to the inn and carry the supplies up into the room Adelle shares with Gloria, away from the prying eyes of the townsfolk. The other two are still downstairs, so Adelle and Elvis continue organizing and packing up the goods in silence. 

It’s only then, after she removes the gloves she wore against the biting cold outside, that he notices a blood-stained bandage on one of her hands.

"Crikey, Adelle! You're hurt!" His discovery is met with a shocking indifference on her part.

"Oh, this?" She waves the hurt hand at him nonchalantly. "One of the Holograders nicked me during the battle, it's nothing." 

"Doesn't look like nothing," he doubles down, but only earns himself an eye-roll. _Typical._

"Oh, please. We've all had worse." 

True, there’s been a plethora of stab wounds, broken ribs, and concussions, but that doesn't mean this shouldn't be looked at. As the group’s healer, he's treated dozens of small cuts and scrapes as well. If this gets infected, it’ll be a problem and, at the very least, it must be annoying to deal with.

"Why didn't you tell me about this?" Adelle just huffs and he knows immediately he isn’t going to get an answer to that one. "C'mon, let me have a look."

Adelle may be the most stubborn person he ever met, so when he reaches out to take her hand he half expects her to resist. Tell him it’s nothing again, or maybe even swat his hand away. What actually happens though, takes him completely by surprise.

She flinches. 

It’s a reflex, a subconscious movement, but it still says more than a thousand words. The realization hits him like a ton of bricks – she’s scared of _him_ too. Or at least part of her is. It’s clear she didn’t mean to react like that, the look on her face, a mix between guilt and shock is enough to tell him that, but she still can’t take it back. For a split-second, he feels hurt, but he quickly crams the feeling away into some dark corner of his mind. This isn’t about him. It’s about her, and the fact that he must’ve done something to make her feel like that. 

Meanwhile, Adelle seems about as happy about her little slip-up as he is. She flops down onto the bed, elbows resting on her knees and face buried in her hands, most likely frustrated with herself for even reacting that way. For a long, awkward moment, both of them remain like that. Her sitting on the bed and him standing there, having absolutely no clue what to do next. After a while, he finally makes up his mind and approaches.

He kneels down in front of her, close enough to touch if he reached out but still keeping enough space between them. When Elvis speaks up again, after he’s taken a moment to ground himself, his voice is low and gentle. 

"Adelle, look at me." After a moment she lifts her hands away from her face, though still not quite managing to look him in the eyes. Well, he’ll take it. "You know I’d never hurt you, right?"

Her answer is quick and decisive.

"Of course I do!" 

She looks at him then, and it’s clear she’s telling the truth. An invisible weight is lifted off his shoulders. Still, he can tell that there’s something else bothering her and he already has an idea what that might be. Adelle's always been easy to read.

"Look, I-" he begins, feverishly trying to scrape together the right words. "I’m sorry about how I acted when you revealed that… you know."

"Elvis you don’t have to-"

"Yes, I do. You’d just revealed yourself to an entire city of people wanting you dead, terrified of what we might think, and instead of doing anything I was standing there staring like some slack-jawed idiot. That probably didn’t help." 

The second the words are out of his mouth he knows he’s hit the nail on the head. She looks away again, a bitter look on her face. 

"No, it didn’t." Even though he’s glad for her honesty, the words sting. He deserves them though, so Elvis will just have to deal with it. "For a moment there I thought… well, I thought you were disgusted." 

He almost can’t believe it. The mere thought is utterly ridiculous.

"Disgusted? By you?" 

Her silence is as good of an answer as any. Well, he can’t let that one stand, it just wouldn’t do.

"Sure, I was surprised. From what I knew Fairies weren’t even supposed to exist anymore and it took a minute to get through this thick skull of mine. But I wasn’t disgusted for a second, you’ve gotta believe me." 

Quite the opposite, actually. When he saw her there against the sky, with her sparkling wings and glowing fairy-dust all around her, he thought she was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. Not that she isn’t beautiful now, because she definitely, undoubtedly is. Elvis decides to keep that one to himself though. Blurting out stuff like that would only serve to make the whole situation that much worse. 

At that moment, Adelle finally replies, snapping him out of his thoughts and back into reality.

"I do. Believe you, I mean. It’s just… ugh!" She’s gesturing wildly with her hands, trying to describe what she cannot put into words. The sight makes him smile. 

"Yeah, I know," he answers. It isn’t just empty words either, he gets it. Doubt is one mean son of a bitch.

There’s another moment of silence. Then –

"I also thought you were… angry with me, for not telling you sooner." 

Even though it’s completely nonsensical, because, no, he isn’t mad at her in the slightest, Elvis gets where she’s coming from. She’s only been traveling with Gloria and Seth for a short while, short enough to justify not telling them, but it’s different with him. They’re partners, have been for a while now. From the outside, it would be easy to say that it was a breach of trust not to tell him. But the whole Fairy thing was her secret to share, and if she didn’t want to do that yet, for one reason or another, he can’t fault her for it.

"I’m not angry with you, Adelle. Never was."

"But-"

"Just trust me, alright?" It’s a tall order, he knows. If he’s learned anything today, then it’s that trust doesn’t come to her easily. "Now, let’s see that cut."

She sighs and rolls her eyes, again, but finally caves and undoes the bandage around her hand. The sight that greets him isn’t pretty. A cut runs along the back of her hand, only partially scabbed over and red around the edges. 

Yeah, this definitely isn’t nothing. 

Elvis has half a mind to call her out on it, hiding her wounds from the one person who can treat them is reckless and dangerous, but, considering the situation, decides to keep his big mouth shut for once and sets his mind on treating the cut instead.

White Magic, he quickly realized after acquiring the Asterisk, is an intimate thing. You can’t just conjure up as much arcane energy as you possibly can and let it loose on the target. Healing needs to be controlled. Connected. Granted, in the heat of battle he isn’t quite able to pull it off in the way it’s supposed to work, laying your hands on someone in the middle of a fight just doesn’t work, not if he wants his head to remain on his shoulders, but he’s found a pretty good spot between speed and effectiveness when he needs to heal in a pinch. Right now, it’s different though. Adelle isn’t bleeding out or fending off someone hellbent on killing them. They have all the time in the world. 

She holds out her injured hand and when he takes it in both of his, gently but deliberately, she doesn’t flinch away again. Elvis breathes in and lets the magic come to him.

Okay, so maybe he should’ve practiced proper healing more often because the sudden rush of new sensations threatens to overwhelm him for a second. He can feel everything. Her heart, beating steadily in her chest, the continuous flow of her blood, her lungs expanding and contracting with every breath she takes. Thankfully, he manages to catch himself after a second. This time around, focusing properly, he finds what he was looking for. A dull pain radiating from her palm. He concentrates the magic around them on that spot and, next thing he knows, the skin around the edges of the cut is glowing softly as the wound slowly closes itself. It’s done. Slowly and carefully, he lets the magic dissipate and severs the connection. 

(Although he holds onto her hand for a moment longer than necessary.)

"I didn’t know you could do that." She says after finally pulling away, looking at the back of her hand, blue eyes wide with wonder. That's right, up until today she’s only ever seen him heal with a staff before.

"Well," he says, scratching his neck because he doesn’t know what to do with his hands all of a sudden. "I’m still learning." 

For a second he can see a snarky retort gleam behind her eyes, probably about his ability, or inability, to learn new things at all. But, whatever it is, she decides to keep it to herself. Instead, her response is short but surprisingly genuine. 

"Thanks." 

The single word is accompanied by a smile and he wonders how anyone could ever hate her.

"Anytime," he answers, and means it.


End file.
